Mechanism for wiring baskets



1 V l 2 shets sheet. 1. r G. B. THAYER & E. D. WHEELER. MECHANISM FOR WIRING BASKETS (No Model.)

fra ed Dec. 15,1896.

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(No Model.)

' MEGHANISMFOR WIRING BASKETS.

No. 573,311. Patented Dec. 15,1896;

UNITED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

GEORGE BATES THAYER AND ERSKINE D. VHEELER, OF BENTON HARBOR, MICHIGAN.

MECHANISM FOR WIRING BASKETS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 573,311, dated December 15, 1896. Application filed October 11, 1395. Serial No. 565,366. (No model.)

T 00 whom it may concern Be it known that we, GEORGE BATES THAYER and EBSKINE D. WHEELER, citizens of the United States, residing at Benton Harbor, in the county of Berrien and State of Michigan, have invented certain newand use-.

resented our improvements as adapted to the wiring of baskets having a splint-body portion, a wooden bottom, and top and bottom strengthening bands or hoops, though the improvements are equally well adapted for wiring baskets or boxes of other character.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective view showing our improvements in position on a stapling-machine. Fig. 2 represents a front elevation of the stationary 'or non-rotatable cross-head and parts carried thereby. Fig. 3 represents a side elevation thereof. Fig. 4 represents a side elevation of the rotarycross-head on which the basket form is supported and slides. Fig. 5 is a top plan view of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 represents a perspective view, partly broken away, of a portion of the basket support or form mounted on the rotary supporting cross-head. Fig. 7 represents a longitudinal sectional view of the basket-form, its supporting cross-head, and the staple-clenching devices assembled. Fig. 8 represents a rear view of the basket-form and its adjustable supporting cross-head. Figs. 9 and 10 are detail views hereinafter described.

1 represents the base, 2 the uprights, 3 the top piece or table, at thewiren'eel, 5 the staple-inserting mechanism, and 6 the treadle and 7 the plunger of a staple inserting or driving machine, which may be of any approved construction.

8 represents a pair of rods having slidebearing in lugs 9 on the uprights 2 and angularly connecting at their front ends with and so as to support the stationary or non-rotatable cross-head carrying the staple-clenchin g anvil, to be presently described, and present the basket-hoops on a level with the table 3.

v 10 represents a lever having a bifurcated or forked lower portion 11 to straddle the base 1, said forked lower portion having pivotal bearing-support in cars 12, extending from the base 1.

13 represents a rotatable ball or wheel on the top of the lever 10. 14c represents a cord connected at its front or upper end, as at 15, with said lever, and from thence extending over a grooved or other pulley 16, supported on the front upright 2, and from thence extending down to and connected at its lower end, as at 17, with another treadle 18. The function of this lever 10 is to hold the basket 19 and its form in position during the operations of inserting and clenching the staples, thereby dispensing with the necessity of holding the basket and form to position by hand,

and leaving the hands of the operator free to while by releasing or loosening the foot-pressure on said treadle said basket and form may be readily moved or the basket removed, as desired.

20 represents the basket-form on which the basket is built up and held While the bottom and hoops are stapled to the body portion. Such a basket, as shown in the drawings, on which our apparatus is especially designed to operate, though the apparatus is equally well adapted for use on other baskets and the like, consists of a splint-body portion 21, a wooden bottom. 22, bottom hoop23, and a pair of top hoops 24. In constructing the basket of this character the wooden bottom is placed against the front portion of the form 20 and held in such position by the pressure against said bottom of the rotary ball 13 of the lever 10, which, as before stated, is accomplished by pressure on the treadle 18. A hoop similar to that marked it is then placed around the other or inner edge of the form 20. The splint body 21 is then placed around the basket-form with its top portion resting on the said inner hoop and its bottom portion resting on the edges of the wooden bottom. The bottom hoop 23 and the outer top hoop 24 are then placed in position, as shown in Fig. 1. By this operation it will be readily apparent that the splint-body portion of the basket is gripped and clamped at its bottom between the edges of the bottom and the bottom hoop and at its top between the inner and outer hoops. In this position the several parts of the basket are in readiness for being wired or stapled together by the mechanism to be presently described in order to produce a complete basket ready for use.

The basket-form is of a shape corresponding with the shape of the basket to be produced. In the drawings it is shown as of substantially rectangular forwardly-taperin g form, (see Fig. 7,) the tapering portion 25 corresponding with the lower portion of the hasket. The inner or widest portion of the form 20 has solid walls and has a circumferential open groove or slot 26 and bracing cornerstrips 27, lugs 28 extending inwardly from each end for the purpose of releasing the spring-pawls, to be presently described. The tapering forward portion 25 of the form (see Figs. 6 and 7) may be of skeleton formation.

29 represents the non-rotatable cross-head, which has bearing-support on the frame by means of the rods 8, which latter have limited reciprocal longitudinal movement in the lugs 9, so as to admit of the basket and its form being presented at both the top and bottom portions thereof to the stapling mechanism.

30 represents a ring removabl y secured by screws 31 to a series of studs or short rods 32, extending inwardly from the cross-head 29. 33 represents a notch or recess formed in the inner edge of said ring to receive alternately the spring-pawls according to the position of the basket-form and basket.

34: represents an inwardly-extending centrally-bored boss of the cross-head 29. In the upper portion of this boss is journaled a roller 35, which as the basket-form 20 is turned for stapling runs in contact with the iron frame, (see Figs. 7 and 9,) thus greatly relieving friction and facilitating turning the frame. The said roller has a. journal-pin on one side only and is held in place by the ring 30.

36 represents a rigid clench-block or anvil extending upwardly from the boss Sagas shown in Fig. 7. This clench-block or anvil in use extends through the groove 26 in the basketform to receive the impact of and clench the staple-legs. The block 36 runs in the slot 26,

Figs. 6 and 10, as the basket-form rotates, but does not come in contact with the strips 27, since the latter are located eccentrieally or at the convex corners of the form, Fig. 10, beyond the radius of said block.

37 38 represent a pair of longitudinal division-plates in the basket-form 20, constituting a longitudinal way 39 to receive a rotary cross-head 40 and admit of the longitudinal reciprocal travel 011 said cross-head 40 of said basket-form. This cross-head 40 has a central bore 41 to receive a bolt or pin 42, on which said cross-head has rotary bearing and revolves when the basket-form is turned endwise and from one side to the other, said pin or bolt also serving to connect the cross-heads 29 and 40 together, as shown in Fig. 7.

43 represents a hub on which the boss 3t has bearing.

The cross-head 40 has a pair of upper and a pair of lower jaws 44: 45, within or between which the basket-form has slide-bearing, the edges of the division-plates 87 38 having bean ing on the horizontal portion of the ways formed by said jaws, as clearly shown in Fig. (3. 46 47 represent fiat horizontal portions of said jaws.

48 40 represent a pair of spring-projected pawls pivoted at 50 51 in side slots in the rotary cross-head, 52 representing the springs engaging said pawls.

The parts being assembled as indicated in Fig. 7 and positioned on the wiring-machine as indicated in Fig. 1, the pawl 48 will be in engagement with the notch 33 in the ring 30, which engagement of pawl with said ring holds the form from oscillating or turning while being slid on the rotary cross-head to wire the sides of the basket. The basket is then built on the form 20, as previously described. The wiring meehanism is then actuated and the form with the basket material thereon is then slid across the rotary head, the staples being driven in the edges of the bottom during the horizontal movement of the basket-form, as will be readily understood, so as to wire the bottom hoop, the bottom of the splint body, and the wooden bottom together. hen one side of the basket has thus been wired, the end of the basketform 20 has reached the rotary cross-head 40. Thereupon the adjacent end lug 28 strikes against the pawl. 4-8, and, forcing said pawl inward, releases said pawl from the notch 33 in the ring 80. The basket form is then raised by roller 35 and turned and the stapling of the end of the basket is accomplished. Then the roller contacts with the next cornerstrip and again raises the form, which is then turned over to bring the other side of the basket-form and basket uppermost, the retarycross-head rotating with the form, as will be well understood. As the basket-form is thus turned over the pawl 40 is brought into engagement with the ring-notch to again hold the form from oscillation. The rods 8 are susceptible of longitudinal movement to admit of the form being moved either inward or outward, so as to bring the basket under the staple-inserting device to secure the slap ling of either the top or bottom of the basket, as desired, nuts on said rods serving to limit the reciprocal movements of said rods to the appropriate distances to insure the form moving only the requisite distances to bring the top and the bottom of the basket under the stapling mechanism.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is-- 1. A device for forming and wiring the com- .ponent parts of a splint or similar basket, consisting of a staple-driving machine, a pair of reciprocal rods having bearing on the frame of said staple-driving machine, a cross-head rigidly secured to said rods, a staple-clenching anvil carried by said cross-head, a crosshead rotatably connected with said rigid cross-head, and a basket-form having slidebearing on said rotary cross-head, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A device for forming and wiring the com ponent parts of a splint or other basket, consisting of a staple-driving machine, a pair of rods having limited reciprocal bearing on the frame of said machine, a cross-head rigidly secured to said rods, a staple-clenching anvil carried by said cross-head, a cross-head rotatably connected with said rigid cross-head, a lever having pivotal bearing on the stapledriving machine and a ball or wheel having rotatable bearing on the top of said lever adapted to bear at its upper portion against the bottom of the basket and hold said basket and the basket-form in position with freedom of reciprocal movement, a treadle pivoted on the frame of the said machine, and means, as a cord, connecting said lever and treadle, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a machine for wiring splint and other clenching anvil and a roller carried by said cross-head, a cross-head rotatably connected staple-clenching anvil carried by and extending beyond the periphery of said cross-head, a roller and a notched ring carried by said cross-head, a cross-head loosely connected with said non-rotatable cross-head and having rotatable bearing on said connection, spring-pawls having pivotal bearing in recesses in the sides of said rotary cross-head, a basket-form having slide-bearing on said rotary cross-head, an open slot around its inner edge transverse corner-strips and a lug extending inwardly from each end of said basket-form, substantially as and for the pnrpose set forth.

5. The combination with a staple-driver of a horizontally reciprocal cross-head, a stapleclench carried by said cross-head, a rotary cross-head loosely connected with said reciprocal cross-head,-a basket-form having slidebearing on and adapted to rotate in unison with said rotary cross-head and having a circumferentially-slotted portion to receive the staple-clench, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE BATES THAYER. ERSKINE D. WHEELER. \Vitnesses JNo. A. MAYs, A. PLUMMER. 

